The rapid decline of the Northern flying squirrel indicates that Pennsylvania's conifer forests are "not very healthy right now," states Carolyn Mahan, associate professor of biology at Penn State Altoona. Without the northern squirrel, there are fewer fungi, and that means added stress on an already weakened population of trees.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by the April explosion of British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 crew members, has poured about 100 million gallons of oil into the water and caused significant damage to ecology and industry. It is already considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history and may be among the largest spills in the world. It may also be among the worst industrial disasters in modern history. "At this point we're just going to be estimating because it is at a scale and dimension that we just haven't seen before," says environmental historian Brian Black, a professor of history and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona.

When the Drake Oil Well in Titusville, Pennsylvania began seeping crude oil 150 years ago, humanity allowed itself to become engulfed in the ecology of oil, according to a Penn State environmental historian. Now in the midst of an energy transition, the U.S. and the world need to keep moving forward toward alternative methods of power generation. "American consumers must take stock and understand our dependency on oil in the context of how we got to this point," said Brian Black, associate professor of history and environmental studies, Penn State Altoona.

The University Board of Trustees today (Nov. 21) approved the purchase of land in Logan Township, Blair County, to be used by the Penn State Altoona campus. The property will be acquired from Robert L. Ritchey, L. Annette Ritchey, and the Ritchey Family Limited Partnership. The 40-acre tract of land adjacent to campus is expected to be purchased for $750,000. The property currently includes five parcels of land and a one-story concrete block single-family residence.